Sliding-door fastener.



J. PICKERING.

SLIDING DOOR FASTENER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.4,1914.

1,134,604, Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

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J. PIGKERIN G. SLIDING DOOR PASTENER.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 4, 1914. 1 ,134,004 Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

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JOSIAH PICKERING, 0F SCI-IENECTADY, NEW YORK.

SLIDING-DOOR FASTENER.

Application filed March 4, 1914.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOSIAH JLIOKERING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Schenectady, in the county of Schenectady and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Sliding-Door Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in sliding doors such as used on freight cars and in ware houses and the like, the invention consisting in the construction, combination and arrangement of devices hereinafter described and claimed.

One object of the invention is to effect im provements in means for bracing the door and to enable it to withstand pressure from within a car and to be readily opened when desired without danger of injury to the door; another object being to provide improved means for fastening the door in closed position and for also holding the same against casual movement when the door is arranged in either open or closed position.

In the accompanying drawings :Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a freight car provided with a door and hanging and fastening devices therefor constructed in accordance with my invention and showing the door in closed position and fastened. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same on the plane indicated by the line aa of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the same, showing the door open.

For the purposes of this specification a wall of a freight car is indicated at 1, provided with a door opening 2.

In accordance with my invention I provide an upper longitudinally arranged guide and holding rail 3 which is secured to the side of the wall, projects outwardly therefrom and is arranged slightly higher than the top of the door opening, the length of the said rail exceeding the width of the door opening, one end of the rail being at the side of the door opening against which the door closes and the other end of the rail being spaced a suitable distance from the opposite side of the door opening. This rail is cross sectionally L-shaped so that it is provided with an upper horizontal web a and with a vertical depending flange 5 at the outer side of the said web and thereby a groove 6 is formed under the rail and between its flange 5 and the outer side of the car wall. The end of the rail which is Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

Serial No. 822,454.

spaced from the door opening is secured to the car wall by a bracket 7, the said bracket being fitted in the angle between the web and flange of said rail. The opposite end of the rail is secured on the upper end of a vertical bar 8 against which the door closes, the said bar projecting outwardly from the wall of the car and being suitably secured thereto.

Below the door opening is a supporting rail 9 which is spaced from the car wall by sleeve spacers 10 and is secured to the car wall by bolts 11 which pass through said rail and also through said spacer sleeves. The length of this rail 9 is practically coextensive with that of the rail 3. The upper side of the rail 9 projects above the spacer sleeves.

A latch bar 18 is arranged on the outer side of the door and is pivotally mounted on a bolt 19. Said bolt is arranged near the center of the door and the latch bolt has a slot 20 through which the bolt extends. The outer end of the latch bar is provided with a recess 21 on its under side and a shoulder 22 at the outer side of said recess which shoulder is adapted to engage a keeper 23 that is secured on the outer side of the bar 8 and projects from the outer edge of said bar. Said keeper has an opening in its outer end through which the outer end of the latch bar may be extended and the latch bar has an opening 24 to receive a sealing wire. To enable the latch bar to be readily moved the same is provided near its outer end with an outwardly projecting lug eye 25. Owing to the arrangement of the slot20 the latch bar is slidably as well as pivotally mounted on the bolt 19.

I also provide a rocking bar 26 which is arranged on the outer side of the door and bears against the outer side of the latch bar. The lower end of the rocking bar is pivotally mounted on one of the bolts 11 at a point spaced from the center of the track rail or bearing 9 and the rocking bar has a slot 27 in its upper portion through which the bolt 19 extends. The said slot adapts the rocking bar for sliding movement as well as pivotal movement on said bolt.

When the door is moved to either closed or open position the rocking bar is arranged in an inclined position so that the rocking bar, by its own weight, holds the door against casual movement and yet permits the door to be readily moved and designed. When the door is in closed position the latch bar may detent by its own weight, will hold the latch bar firmly in engaged position with the keeper and yet permit the latch bar to be readily disengaged therefrom. lVhen the door is open the detent may be swung outwardly so as to liebeyond the outer side of the bar 8 and clear the doorway and the latch bar may also be moved inwardly and arranged with its lower free end bearing on one of the plates 1 as shown in Fig. 3 and hence the latch bar may be prevented from forming an obstruction in the doorway and there will be no danger of its being caught by the trucks or other objects when loading .or unloading the car. The latch bar not only serves to secure the door in closed position but by reason of its size, shape and ar rangement on the door forms a substantial brace on the outer side of the door and in coaction with the keeper, prevents the door from being sprung or strained by the pressure of any of the contents of the car. The rocking bar also serves to brace and strengthen the door and in coaction with the guards 17 and the lower track rail 9 prevents the door from being moved outwardly at its lower side from the car wall.

The rocking bar being pivotally connected at its lower end on the outer side of the rail and the latch bar being pivotally mounted at its inner end on the same bolt with the upper end of the rocking bar and the keeper 23 being engaged by the latch bar, said rocking bar and said latch bar serving when the door is closed, to place the same on its outer side against stress from within and prevent the door from being dismounted from the rail.

Having thus described my invention, I claim In a structure of the class described a wall having a door opening, a rail spaced from the rail and brought below the opening, a stop bar at one side of the opening, a keeper projecting from said stop bar, a sliding door mounted on the rail, a latch bar to engage the keeper, said latch bar being arranged on the outer side of the door and having a longitudinal slot, a rocking bar also arranged Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0." 

